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Supplying Personal Protective Equipment to Intensive Care Units during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Colombia. A Simheuristic Approach Based on the Location-Routing Problem

Author

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  • Andrés Martínez-Reyes

    (Operations and Supply Chain Management Research Group, Escuela Internacional de Ciencias Económicas y Administrativas, Universidad de La Sabana Km 7 Autopista Norte de Bogotá, D.C., Chía 250001, Colombia)

  • Carlos L. Quintero-Araújo

    (Operations and Supply Chain Management Research Group, Escuela Internacional de Ciencias Económicas y Administrativas, Universidad de La Sabana Km 7 Autopista Norte de Bogotá, D.C., Chía 250001, Colombia)

  • Elyn L. Solano-Charris

    (Operations and Supply Chain Management Research Group, Escuela Internacional de Ciencias Económicas y Administrativas, Universidad de La Sabana Km 7 Autopista Norte de Bogotá, D.C., Chía 250001, Colombia)

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019, known as COVID-19, has generated an imminent necessity for personal protective equipment (PPE) that became essential for all populations and much more for health centers, clinics, hospitals, and intensive care units (ICUs). Considering this fact, one of the main issues for cities’ governments is the distribution of PPE to ICUs to ensure the protection of medical personnel and, therefore, the sustainability of the health system. Aware of this challenge, in this paper, we propose a simheuristic approach for supplying personal protective equipment to intensive care units which is based on the location-routing problem (LRP). The objective is to provide decision makers with a decision support tool that considers uncertain demands, distribution cost, and reliability in the solutions. To validate our approach, a case study in Bogotá, Colombia was analyzed. Computational results show the efficiency of the usage of alternative safety stock policies to face demand uncertainty in terms of both expected stochastic costs and reliabilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrés Martínez-Reyes & Carlos L. Quintero-Araújo & Elyn L. Solano-Charris, 2021. "Supplying Personal Protective Equipment to Intensive Care Units during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Colombia. A Simheuristic Approach Based on the Location-Routing Problem," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-16, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:14:p:7822-:d:593755
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Noorsidi Aizuddin Mat Noor & Nurhadina Anati Md Shah & Nuramalina Salwa Harun & Siti Zaleha Daud & Hairul Nizam Mansor & Farhana Diana Deris & Afizan Mohktar, 2025. "Disaster Resilience Planning for Risk Mitigation and Business Continuity," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(5), pages 5270-5281, May.

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